10 best Star Trek moments from Patrick Stewart's Jean-Luc Picard

Fighter. Diplomat. Tea lover. Tea spiller. Poet. Commander. This is Patrick Stewart’s Jean-Luc Picard, Captain of the Enterprise in Star Trek: The Next Generation. And he’s back! Stewart will return in the Trek universe as his legendary character in a brand new series for CBS All Access. What makes him so iconic? What makes him stand out from the other commanders to grace the small screen? From man-in-tights Picard to Borg slayer to intergalactic peace keeper, delve into Picard’s past to predict what might become of Picard’s future.

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"Q-Pid"

Q wants to know what love is so he transports Picard and Vash into a Robin Hood-esque scenario to watch the captain save his gal. Alter-ego Picards are the most entertaining Picards.

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"Menage a Troi"

Speaking of love, Lwaxana Troi, Picard’s official stalker, wants a ride in the captain’s seat. Picard is definitely not interested, but he sets aside his lack of enthusiasm to save Lwaxana when she’s kidnapped by Ferengi DaiMon Tog. You see, she was playing hard to get and was refusing to come back to the Enterprise. So Picard throws out his best Shakespearean love lines to win back her heart.

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"The Best of Both Worlds"

Picard lives the borg life in “The Best of Both Worlds, Part I” and “Part II.” Well, technically it’s Locutus, but still. When the Borg race invades the Federation space, they kidnap Picard to make him one of their own, erasing a symbol of humanity’s best parts. From the single tear dripping down the face of a seemingly gone Picard to Picard struggling to tell Data “sleep,” the goodness in the commander remained intact.

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Star Trek: First Contact

Once again, Starfleet grapples with the Borg. Once again, it seems like the villains might prevail. When Lily Sloane pushes Picard to the edge of his patience to blow up the ship, he gives a passionate reply: “They invade our space and we fall back. They decimate entire worlds and we fall back. Not again. The line must be drawn here.”

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"Tapestry"

If Picard had to redo his entire history, he wouldn’t change a thing. He learned that lesson after getting stabbed in the heart and seeing a heavenly vision of how his life would’ve been if he played it safe. Picard would rather get stabbed in the heart again than embrace a menial existence.

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"Chain of Command"

“There are four lights!” When you get captured by the Cardassians and tortured for information with no hope in sight, never forget this line from Picard’s moving speech.

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"The Drumhead"

In another moment that resulted in a famous Picard meme, he faced McCarthy-esque villain Norah Satie with great gusto. On trial as the admiral fell into xenophobia in an investigation of potential sabotage, Picard spoke these words: “The first time any man’s freedom is trodden on, they’re all damaged.” Hmm. If only there was some real-world equivalent this applies to.

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"Starship Mine"

Don’t let Picard’s love of tea fool you. This commander can kick some serious butt. He demonstrated his skills by single-handedly taking out a band of thieves infiltrating the ship.

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"The Inner Light"

After being taken over by an alien probe, Picard wakes as a Kamin, a resident of the planet Kataan. During a simulation, he lives through the last days of his home world’s existence in a 20-minute span, giving us this image of Stewart playing a flute.

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"Darmok"

Universal translators can only go so far. When Starfleet encounters a new alien civilization and their metaphorical speak confounds even their language translators, Picard must connect with the Tamarians, being to being.

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1 of 11George Rose/Getty Images

Picard is back!

Fighter. Diplomat. Tea lover. Tea spiller. Poet. Commander. This is Patrick Stewart’s Jean-Luc Picard, Captain of the Enterprise in Star Trek: The Next Generation. And he’s back! Stewart will return in the Trek universe as his legendary character in a brand new series for CBS All Access. What makes him so iconic? What makes him stand out from the other commanders to grace the small screen? From man-in-tights Picard to Borg slayer to intergalactic peace keeper, delve into Picard’s past to predict what might become of Picard’s future.

Advertisement

2 of 11Paramount

"Q-Pid"

Q wants to know what love is so he transports Picard and Vash into a Robin Hood-esque scenario to watch the captain save his gal. Alter-ego Picards are the most entertaining Picards.

3 of 11Paramount

"Menage a Troi"

Speaking of love, Lwaxana Troi, Picard’s official stalker, wants a ride in the captain’s seat. Picard is definitely not interested, but he sets aside his lack of enthusiasm to save Lwaxana when she’s kidnapped by Ferengi DaiMon Tog. You see, she was playing hard to get and was refusing to come back to the Enterprise. So Picard throws out his best Shakespearean love lines to win back her heart.

Advertisement

4 of 11Paramount Television/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock

"The Best of Both Worlds"

Picard lives the borg life in “The Best of Both Worlds, Part I” and “Part II.” Well, technically it’s Locutus, but still. When the Borg race invades the Federation space, they kidnap Picard to make him one of their own, erasing a symbol of humanity’s best parts. From the single tear dripping down the face of a seemingly gone Picard to Picard struggling to tell Data “sleep,” the goodness in the commander remained intact.

Advertisement

5 of 11Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock

Star Trek: First Contact

Once again, Starfleet grapples with the Borg. Once again, it seems like the villains might prevail. When Lily Sloane pushes Picard to the edge of his patience to blow up the ship, he gives a passionate reply: “They invade our space and we fall back. They decimate entire worlds and we fall back. Not again. The line must be drawn here.”

Advertisement

6 of 11Paramount

"Tapestry"

If Picard had to redo his entire history, he wouldn’t change a thing. He learned that lesson after getting stabbed in the heart and seeing a heavenly vision of how his life would’ve been if he played it safe. Picard would rather get stabbed in the heart again than embrace a menial existence.

Advertisement

7 of 11Paramount

"Chain of Command"

“There are four lights!” When you get captured by the Cardassians and tortured for information with no hope in sight, never forget this line from Picard’s moving speech.

Advertisement

8 of 11Paramount

"The Drumhead"

In another moment that resulted in a famous Picard meme, he faced McCarthy-esque villain Norah Satie with great gusto. On trial as the admiral fell into xenophobia in an investigation of potential sabotage, Picard spoke these words: “The first time any man’s freedom is trodden on, they’re all damaged.” Hmm. If only there was some real-world equivalent this applies to.

Advertisement

9 of 11Paramount

"Starship Mine"

Don’t let Picard’s love of tea fool you. This commander can kick some serious butt. He demonstrated his skills by single-handedly taking out a band of thieves infiltrating the ship.

Advertisement

10 of 11Paramount

"The Inner Light"

After being taken over by an alien probe, Picard wakes as a Kamin, a resident of the planet Kataan. During a simulation, he lives through the last days of his home world’s existence in a 20-minute span, giving us this image of Stewart playing a flute.

Advertisement

11 of 11Paramount

"Darmok"

Universal translators can only go so far. When Starfleet encounters a new alien civilization and their metaphorical speak confounds even their language translators, Picard must connect with the Tamarians, being to being.